Beauty Is a Verb : The New Poetry of Disability

Beauty Is A Verb Is The First Of Its Kind: A High-quality Anthology Of Poetry By American Poets With Physical Disabilities. Poems And Essays Alike Consider How Poetry, Coupled With The Experience Of Disability, Speaks To The Poetics Of Each Poet Included. The Collection Explores First The Precursors Whose Poems Had A Complex (and Sometimes Absent) Relationship With Disability, Such As Vassar Miller, Larry Eigner, And Josephine Miles. It Continues With Poets Who Have Generated The Crip Poetics Movement, Such As Petra Kuppers, Kenny Fries, And Jim Ferris. Finally, The Collection Explores The Work Of Poets Who Don't Necessarily Subscribe To The Identity Of Crip-poetics And Have Never Before Been Published In This Exact Context. These Poets Include Bernadette Mayer, Rusty Morrison, Cynthia Hogue, And C. S. Giscombe. The Book Crosses Poetry Movements--from Narrative To Language Poetry--and Speaks To And About A Number Of Disabilities Including Cerebral Palsy, Deafness, Blindness, Multiple Sclerosis, And Aphasia Due To Stroke, Among Others-- Preface / Jennifer Bartlett -- A Short History Of American Disability Poetry / Michael Northen -- Missing Larry : The Poetics Of Disability In Larry Eigner / Michael Davidson -- Six Poems / Larry Eigner -- From Codeine Diary. The Hemophiliac's Motorcycle / Tom Andrews -- Swimming On Concrete : The Poetry Of Vassar Miller / Jill Alexander Essbaum -- If I Had Wheels Or Love. Dramatic Monologue In The Speaker's Own Voice. The Common Core. Subterfuge / Vassar Miller -- Less. Proem. Stiege / Robert Fagan -- The Voice Of Reason / Susan Schweik -- Doll. Album. Motive. Intensives. Payment /josephone Miles -- Keeping The Knives Sharp. Poet Of Cripples. Normal. Poems With Disabilities. From The Surgeons : Drs. Sofield, Louis, Hank, Alfini, Millar, Baehr, Bevan-thomas, Tsatsos, Erickson, And Brennan. Lost Hyoid / Jim Ferris -- From Staring Back : The Disability Experience From The Inside Out. Excavation. Body Language. Beauty And Variations / Kenny Fries --^ The Sound Of The Bones. The Origin Of My Wheelchair. Crip Music. From Speherical Song Cycle / Petra Kuppers -- Line Breaks The Way I See Them. School For The Blind. Broken Reverie. About Chester Kowalski I Don't Know Much. A Few Things / Daniel Simpson -- Getting Comfortable. Working Together. Telling. Morning. Thousand Island / Laura Hershey -- From The Disability Rights Movement And The Legacy Of Poets With Disabilities. The Amputee's Guide To Sex. The Old Questions. The Devotee. The Body In Pain / Jillian Weise -- Helen Keller : Obsession And Muse. On The Subway. Ashes : Rome, 1946. She Loved Hot Dogs So Much. The Sun Is Warm : Nagasaki, 1948 / Kathi Wolfe -- Translating And Reading Asl Poetry. Deaf Blind : Three Squared Cinquain. Clamor. Beach Baseball. Long Goodbyes / John Lee Clark -- And Now I See. Mosquito. It Had Only Been Dead A Few Hours. Other Good. And Not More May I Be -- Alex Lemon --^ Reshaping The Outline. Hypoesthesia. The Shaking. Seizure, Or Seduction Of Persephone. Dysaesthesia / Laurie Clements Lambeth -- Lying Meditation. 5 Poems From The Empty Form Goes All The Way To Heaven / Brian Teare -- A Conscious Decision. Hemiplegia. No. Prologue. Because You Can't See My Photographs. We Are Everywhere / Ona Gritz -- Digressions On Poetry, Prose And A Lingonberry Bush. Letter To Borges From Houston, Texas. Borges : They Are Knocking The Wind Out Of Me In Iowa City. Letter Borges From Estonia. Letter To Borges In His Parlor. Only Bread, Only Light / Stephen Kuusisto -- Waiting To Be Dangerous : Disability And Confessionalism. Playing Dead. What You Mourn. Reconstruction. Objects Waiting To Be Dangerous / Sheila Black. Listening Sideways To The Beat Of A Poem. Consonants. Instructions To Hearing Persons Desiring A Deaf Man. Ablutions Of The Tongue. Hummingbirds / Raymond Luczak -- River Creature. Cosseted. Accoutrements. The Examining Table / Anne Kaier -- Zombies Are Loose. A Step Above Cows. Legal Drugs. A Famous Ball Player. Avoiding Rigidity / Hal Sirowitz -- Mapping Caesura : The Encompassing Body. From The Relenting : A Play Of Sorts. Wicker-work : A Sestina For Zukofsky. My Inquietude Constrained Briefly By Louise Bogan. The Undering And Other Great Inhumanities On 3.6 Acres / Lisa Gill -- Why I Am Not A Translator -- Take 2. Speech Production : Themes And Variations / Norma Cole -- On A Line By Willie Mctell. From Giscome Road (northern Road, 2). From Prairies Style : Two Monster Poems / C.s. Giscombe -- From My Notebook Has A Rigid Spine Or How To Operate The Body In Writing. Bunny Baby Fast And Slow / Amber Dipietra -- Hearing A Pear : The Poetry Reading On A New Frequency. Afraid Of The Rake. The Magic Word Is Partager. Spelling Down. Theodore Enslin, Poet Of Maine / Ellen Mcgrath Smith -- Oulipo At The Laundromat. Plaza Series.1. The Lost Word Association . 26 Tries. Crane Of Angles / Denise Leto -- Exit Through The Gift Shop. 5 Poems From Autobiography / Jennifer Bartlett -- The Creature Within : On Poetry And Dis/ability. Green Surrounds The Mind Of Summer. In A Mute Season. Radical Optimism / Cynthia Hogue -- Meat Life. In This Plate My Illness Is Visible. In This Plate My Illness Is A Wire That Can Easily Cut Meat And Bone. In This Plate I Receive My First Diagnosis. In This Plate My Traumadome Has Come Unzippered. In This Plate My Illness Splits Time / Danielle Pafunda. To Saturate The Matter Of The Present. Ill-timed (23.1) & Ill-timed (24.2). Ill-timed (24.3). Ill-timed (24.4). Ill-timed (24.5) / Rusty Morrison -- Body Maps And Distraction Zones. (muted Domestic Pornography). 3. (corporeal Punishment). (forced Feeding 1) / David Wolach -- Benign Bone Tumor City. Self-portrait With Framing Effect. Breton's Song Of The Lark. Fairytale : How Spring Comes To The Land Of Snow And Icicles. (dream Map). Wanting To Be A Girl / Kara Dorris -- Poetics/exhibits. Exhibit H. Exhibit U / Gretchen E. Henderson -- Statement On Poetics. Sonnet Edmund Leites. 4th Of July Demon Moped. Chosca Mass Tinek. Eyjafjallajokull / Bernadette Mayer. Edited By Jennifer Bartlett, Sheila Black, & Michael Northen. Includes Bibliographical References. Preface / Jennifer Bartlett -- A short history of American disability poetry / Michael Northen -- Early voices. Missing Larry : the poetics of disability in Larry Eigner / Michael Davidson [Six poems] / Larry Eigner From Codeine diary The hemophiliac's motorcycle / Tom Andrews Swimming on concrete : the poetry of Vassar Miller / Jill Alexander Essbaum If I had wheels or love Dramatic monologue in the speaker's own voice The common core Subterfuge / Vassar Miller Less Proem Stiege / Robert Fagan The voice of "reason" / Susan Schweik Doll Album Motive Intensives Payment / Josephone Miles -- The disability poetics movement. Keeping the knives sharp Poet of cripples Normal Poems with disabilities From the surgeons : Drs. Sofield, Louis, Hank, Alfini, Millar, Baehr, Bevan-Thomas, Tsatsos, Erickson, and Brennan Lost Hyoid / Jim Ferris From Staring back : The disability experience from the inside out Excavation Body language Beauty and variations / Kenny Fries The sound of the bones The origin of my wheelchair Crip music From Speherical song cycle / Petra Kuppers Line breaks the way I see them School for the blind Broken reverie About Chester Kowalski I don't know much A few things / Daniel Simpson Getting comfortable Working together Telling Morning Thousand island / Laura Hershey From The disability rights movement and the legacy of poets with disabilities The amputee's guide to sex The old questions The devotee The body in pain / Jillian Weise Helen Keller : Obsession and muse On the subway Ashes : Rome, 1946 She loved hot dogs so much The sun is warm : Nagasaki, 1948 / Kathi Wolfe Translating and reading ASL poetry Deaf blind : Three squared Cinquain Clamor Beach baseball Long goodbyes / John Lee Clark -- Lyricism of the body. And now I see Mosquito It had only been dead a few hours Other good And not more may I be / Alex Lemon Reshaping the outline Hypoesthesia The shaking Seizure, or seduction of persephone Dysaesthesia / Laurie Clements Lambeth Lying meditation 5 poems from The empty form goes all the way to heaven / Brian Teare A conscious decision Hemiplegia No Prologue Because you can't see my photographs We are everywhere / Ona Gritz Digressions on poetry, prose and a Lingonberry bush Letter to Borges from Houston, Texas Borges : They are knocking the wind out of me in Iowa City Letter Borges from Estonia Letter to Borges in his parlor Only bread, only light / Stephen Kuusisto Waiting to be dangerous : Disability and confessionalism Playing dead What you mourn Reconstruction Objects waiting to be dangerous / Sheila Black. Listening sideways to the beat of a poem Consonants Instructions to hearing persons desiring a deaf man Ablutions of the tongue Hummingbirds / Raymond Luczak River creature Cosseted Accoutrements The examining table / Anne Kaier Zombies are loose A step above cows Legal drugs A famous ball player Avoiding rigidity / Hal Sirowitz Mapping Caesura : The encompassing body From The relenting : A play of sorts Wicker-work : A sestina for Zukofsky My inquietude constrained briefly by Louise Bogan The Undering and other great inhumanities on 3.6 acres / Lisa Gill -- Toward a new language of embodiment. Why I am not a translator-- Take 2 Speech production : Themes and variations / Norma Cole On a line by Willie McTell From Giscome Road (Northern Road, 2) From Prairies style : Two monster poems / C.S. Giscombe From My notebook has a rigid spine or how to operate the body in writing Bunny baby fast and slow / Amber DiPietra "Hearing a pear" : The poetry reading on a new frequency Afraid of the rake The magic word is Partager Spelling down Theodore Enslin, poet of Maine / Ellen McGrath Smith Oulipo at the laundromat Plaza series.1 The lost word association 26 tries Crane of angles / Denise Leto Exit through the gift shop [5 poems from] Autobiography / Jennifer Bartlett The creature within : On poetry and dis/ability Green surrounds the mind of summer In a mute season Radical optimism / Cynthia Hogue Meat life In this plate my illness is visible In this plate my illness is a wire that can easily cut meat and bone In this plate I receive my first diagnosis In this plate my traumadome has come unzippered In this plate my illness splits time / Danielle Pafunda. To saturate the matter of the present Ill-timed (23.1) & Ill-timed (24.2) Ill-timed (24.3) Ill-timed (24.4) Ill-timed (24.5) / Rusty Morrison Body maps and distraction zones (Muted domestic pornography) 3. (Corporeal punishment) (Forced feeding 1) / David Wolach Benign bone tumor city Self-portrait with framing effect Breton's song of the lark Fairytale : How spring comes to the land of snow and icicles (Dream map) Wanting to be a girl / Kara Dorris Poetics/"Exhibits" Exhibit "H" Exhibit "U" / Gretchen E. Henderson Statement on poetics Sonnet Edmund Leites 4th of July demon moped Chosca mass tinek Eyjafjallajokull / Bernadette Mayer. Chosen by the American Library Association as a 2012 Notable Book in Poetry. Beauty is a Verb is a ground-breaking anthology of disability poetry, essays on disability, and writings on the poetics of both. Crip Poetry. Disability Poetry. Poems with Disabilities. This is where poetry and disability intersect, overlap, collide and make peace. "[BEAUTY IS A VERB] is going to be one of the defining collections of the 21st century...the discourse between ability, identity & poetry will never be the same." Ron Silliman, author of In The American Tree "This powerful anthology succeeds at intimately showing...disability through the lenses of poetry. What emerges from the book as a whole is a stunningly diverse array of conceptions of self and other. Publishers Weekly , starred review From "Beauty and Variations" by Kenny Fries: How else can I quench this thirst? My lips travel down your spine, drink the smoothness of your skin. I am searching for the core: What is beautiful? Who decides? Can the laws of nature be defied? Your body tells me: come close. But beauty distances even as it draws me near. What does my body want from yours? My twisted legs around your neck. You bend me back. Even though you can't give the bones at birth I wasn't given, I let you deep inside. You give mewhat? Peeling back my skin, you expose my missing bones. And my heart, long before you came, just as broken. I don't know who to blame. So each night, naked on the bed, my body doesn't want repair, but longs for innocence. If innocent, despite the flaws I wear, I am beautiful. Sheila Black is a poet and children's book writer. In 2012, Poet Laureate Philip Levine chose her as a recipient of the Witter Bynner Fellowship. Disability activist Jennifer Bartlett is a poet and critic with roots in the Language school. Michael Northen is a poet and the editor of Wordgathering: A Journal of Poetics and Disability.